Original
Time Matters: Under/Overperformance Duration and Performance Improvements in the Public Sector
Abstract
ABSTRACT Prior research on public organizations' strategic responses to performance feedback has focused solely on the intensity of performance feedback while neglecting its temporal dimensions. This study aims to fill this gap by incorporating the lens of time and investigating how performance feedback duration affects performance improvements in the public sector. Drawing on various theoretical perspectives, we theorize an inverted U‐shaped relationship between underperformance (negative performance feedback) duration and public organizations' subsequent performance improvements, and a U‐shaped relationship for overperformance (positive performance feedback) duration. Empirical analyses using the case of China's official city air quality ranking provide evidence supporting our theory. Our findings reveal that “time” (duration) can shape public organizations' responses to performance feedback in nonlinear ways and help reconcile inconsistencies in the existing literature, highlighting the importance of incorporating temporal dimensions of performance to advance performance feedback theory in the public sector.
中文
时间至关重要：公共部门中的绩效不足/绩效超出持续时间与绩效改进
摘要
摘要：以往关于公共组织对绩效反馈的战略性回应的研究仅关注绩效反馈的强度，而忽视了其时间维度。本研究旨在填补这一空白，引入时间视角，考察绩效反馈持续时间如何影响公共部门的绩效改进。基于多种理论视角，我们提出绩效不足（负向绩效反馈）持续时间与公共组织随后的绩效改进之间呈倒U型关系，而绩效超出（正向绩效反馈）持续时间与绩效改进之间呈U型关系。以中国官方城市空气质量排名为案例的实证分析为我们的理论提供了支持。研究发现表明，“时间”（持续时间）能够以非线性方式塑造公共组织对绩效反馈的回应，并有助于调和现有文献中的不一致之处，凸显了将绩效的时间维度纳入考量以推进公共部门绩效反馈理论的重要性。
关键词
绩效反馈、时间维度、持续时间、公共组织、绩效改进、空气质量排名、倒U型关系、中国